site.btaEnergy Minister Comments on Importance of Technical Neutrality in Energy Production

Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov commented in a bTV interview on Sunday that the lesson from the power outage that covered the entire Iberian Peninsula is technical neutrality in energy production.

Stankov noted that Bulgaria has a mix of nuclear power plants, wind power plants and energy from renewable sources, which gives the country a chance for such a thing to not happen. He added that this country also has good connectivity with other countries.

The Minister pointed out that the the Chaira Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant is the largest "green battery" that the country has.

He noted that currently only one of the four hydroelectric units is operating, but restoration work is underway for the others. Hydro unit three is expected to be operational by the beginning of 2026, and then hydro unit one by the middle of the year.

The Minister assured that with the liberalization of the electricity market for household consumers, they will be protected.

He argued that it is necessary to maintain a sustainably low electricity price with new investments in the country, so that when household consumers enter the free market, the cost of electricity will be lower than it is currently.

At the end of April, the Parliamentary Energy Committee voted on first reading changes to the Energy Act, postponing the liberalization of the electricity market for households. The period of time for which the postponement will be made will be specified between the two readings of the texts. The liberalization of the electricity market for household consumers was postponed with the government's motive of protecting households from high market prices.

The Ministry of Energy is aiming for the changes to come into effect on July 1, the beginning of the regulatory period. Among them is a change in the body that will determine the regulated price. The Ministry plans for this to happen with a decision of the Council of Ministers, and not, as before, with a decision of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission.